friend

mull over

I’m a very sentimental person when my love cup is nearly empty. Reading and writing long letters keeps me going and makes me see the world with a loving gaze. Ha! Thus, when I was in “muni muni” (mulling over things) mode the other day, I suddenly had the urge to dig up old testimonials posted in my Friendster account six years ago. I knew, I copied and pasted most of it in a word document and saved it somewhere.

I frantically searched my external hard disk but to no avail. Then, it dawned on me that it might be attached in my old emails. I “rummage” my email like crazy… and voila! I found some of it. The big chunk of testimonials are still floating around though. 😦

Below is the testimonial that touched me the most:
“I look up to her as a sister. Thing is, i think she’s learning a lot from me (about anything) instead of the other way around. A beautiful person inside and out. Intellectual. Modest. I appreciate the fact that we have transparency to each other, I mean, I can tell her everything, about my problems, experiences, ideas, opinions, and she can do the same to me, and we don’t have to always agree about those. We don’t always say yes to each other… this makes her a true friend. There was one time when she said no, though. And I got hurt. When she left Lorma, I got bitter about it… I’d say she’s the only real and the best instructor I’ve ever had. A mentor. Most people in the institution failed to see that. One fact I love about her: not the party-animal type of instructor. She knows the boundaries between her and her students. I’ve wanted her to stay until I graduate, I cried A LOT. But life is not getting what we always want(ed). I can’t just imagine losing a good friend like her…”

– Ayi (Posted in Friendster last Tuesday, May 24, 2005)

Awwww…. Thanks Little Big Sister! 🙂 Guess what, we still keep in touch almost everyday. Isn’t it that marvelous? 😉 Aja!

Brussels

Normally, we go to Aachen(Germany) and Liege (Belgium) to roam around, shop, and feel the cool breeze. (See related article -> Belgium ) After which, we travel via train and opted to go back to Hotel Randwyck in Netherlands at the end of the day.

One weekend, the group decided to go to Brussels (Belgium) for a change. Once the group reached Brussels, we all took the hop in hop off tourist bus so that we can check out places as much as we can within the day.

We were getting hungry after our first two stops so we grabbed a bite before carrying on. There were five of us in the group (four ladies and one guy). While eating, two of our friends (lady and guy) mysteriously disappeared. The “exciting” part was, they were holding our tour bus tickets! We were very upset and frantically looked for them. We have our hand phones but we don’t know their contact numbers. -_-

It was around 6p.m. when we gave up the search and went ahead to the train station. To our surprise, our two missing friends were at the train ticketing area. We did not utter a word. We just looked at the them and our eyes said it all. :p

The next morning, they explained what happened and our guess was right. Apparently, they went somewhere to clear up a misunderstanding (which happens frequently).

Scenario: The guy was engaged to be married in his home country and still flirting with our friend.

Ultimately, the guy broke up the engagement and ended up marrying our friend after going through the so called hiccups of a relationship . True love does exist! Ha!

Hmmm…. Maybe it can be tag as a relationship developed in Europe… and leveled up in Brussels, Belgium…. 😉

o.f.w. journey (part 1 of 2)

I was planning to work in Qatar but it looks like it’s not part of God’s itinerary for me. I felt that he was whispering to me, “My child, stay in Singapore for the moment”. And so I did.

And the story begins…

I chance upon my fellow GI (genuine ilokano) and “dabarkads” (a.k.a. friend), James Lee, when I went to do my clearance in my previous work. He mentioned that his sister is working somewhere in Singapore and pointed out that maybe I can try my luck there. He was kind enough to refer me to stay and share the rent in his sister’s place while looking for a job.

I quickly grabbed the opportunity without weighing the pros and cons. All I wanted at that time was to bounce back from the terrible and chaotic event that transpired. Moreover, I did not ask for money from my family because I knew that they also have their own financial obligations to settle. My little savings back then was not enough but I was not even worried.

As I think about it now, God sent an angel to help me with regards to money matters. No wonder I was not worried! God is indeed very good! Hence, I booked my flight and went to that part of Singapore with just few clothes in my luggage and no laptop at all. It’s like going to a battlefield without firearms. Ha!

Furthermore, I haven’t seen Joan (James Lee’s sister) in person and in photo. So I had no clue at all on how she looked like. After a three and a half hour flight, I took a taxi from the airport to Joan’s place. I was a bit apprehensive because I felt like we were traveling in the forest with the trees looming at me. I had goosebumps but I tried to maintain a relax facade.

I relaxed a bit when the taxi finally dropped me off at the entrance of a building. A couple were sitting at the entrance. The girl looked like James Lee’s female version so I presumed that she’s Joan… and I was right.

After sharing the sumptuous meal that they have prepared, I unpacked my stuff and then Joan and Jessie (Joan’s boyfriend) showed me around and taught me how to get to one place to the other. It was a long weekend when I got there, thus, most shops were closed including the money changers.

FYI: Joyce lent me her laptop (isn’t she an angel? ) and told me to send my resume to at least 1000 employers. According to her the trend there is to apply online and only shortlisted applicants will be called for an interview.

Within two months, I must find a job and as well as get my work pass approved within that span of time. A real big challenge ey?

To be continued in a jiffy… :p